Listen to “Make Space 31” on Spotify
And tell a friend!
Earlier this week, L had a cello recital. At seven years old, she was the youngest to perform, the first up after the house lights dimmed in the cavernous school theater. As she walked on stage, she looked more stunned than nervous, wide-eyes gazing over the audience in surprise: Oh! There will be people here! She wore grey pants with zippered cuffs, green sneakers, and a ruffled white blouse—same kind Prince wore in Purple Rain. She refused to wear a dress. Her tune? “Twinkle Twinkle.” Laugh away my friends, but can you play “Twinkle Twinkle” on a cello?
As I watched her left hand form shapes on the neck of the instrument, I was reminded of the way I would move my own hand over L’s face when she was an infant, drawing out patterns and rhythms, a rude facsimile of an orchestra conductor. I was reminded of the way that one evening, just before falling asleep, L pulled her hand out from under the blankets, held it up to mine, and began to mirror these patterns and rhythms. I thought of mimes. I thought of sign language. I thought of that final scene in Alex Garland’s Annihilation. I thought of how one day L’s hands would hold a pencil, a shoelace, a handlebar, a sharp knife, a scalding hot tea kettle, and maybe even the neck of a cello on a stage bathed in blue light on a Tuesday in April.
This week’s playlist has nothing to do with L or the cello or sharp knives or blue light in April—but I love it. It’s easy to love it. It’s easy to love.
Thanks for listening.
Your bud,
Ross
art @ Shawanda Corbett